


Falling

by Gyoro_and_Ururun



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Mischief, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-29
Updated: 2015-02-23
Packaged: 2018-01-17 11:18:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1385689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gyoro_and_Ururun/pseuds/Gyoro_and_Ururun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"No, Loki."</p><p>That was the final straw; Loki couldn't stay on Asgard. So he fell, either to die or to be free. Maybe there was no difference.</p><p>Instead of dying, however, he ends up falling to Midgard, where he meets Darcy Lewis, a student in her final year of college.</p><p>He caused a lot of trouble, but Darcy gives him a second chance. Will he do good by it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Breath of life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WaitingformyDoctor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaitingformyDoctor/gifts).



> This fic is in response to a prompt I found ages ago and had started writing sometime ago, but only just now decided to put it up. 
> 
> It is set after Thor, but before Avengers. The Avengers will form, but there will be some changes to that. However, that is not for a very long time yet.
> 
> This fic is dedicated to **WaitingformyDoctor** , who prompted this fic on a FF.net forum. Enjoy!
> 
> Also: I don't really know much about CPR, so I apologise if it is horrifically wrong.

Loki was falling; it was a strange feeling and he was barely conscious enough to recognise whether it felt good or bad. There was nothing left for him on Asgard. His family had lied to him; his friends were not his own but that of Thor’s and his recent actions would bring him nought but even more misery. Better to die, he thought. It felt like the only option for him. He tried to close his eyes, but he couldn’t. Loki found himself suspended in a state between consciousness and unconsciousness, falling and floating through the space between the realms. His energy was fading and yet the sights he saw; the stars, swirls of colours…the dying star. It was maddening and he could not move his hands in order to cover his eyes.

Loki did not know how long he sifted through space, seemingly aimless and moving at a pace that would make the movement of a turtle seem fast. It was tiring; the sights he saw and the feelings he felt. He wanted it to end. He tried to grasp hold of something, anything, that would relieve him of this empty feeling. Loki tried to weave his magic in some direction, though it felt like he was wading through water with the heaviest of armours and he felt more inclined to give up on the thought. He scrunched up his eyes and searching for his magic deep within him. A spark. Loki grasped hold of it and sent it spiralling through his body, thinking of transporting himself somewhere, _anywhere_ , away from the abyss.

It worked.

 

* * *

 

It had been five months since Thor had landed in New Mexico, changed their lives and left to go and confront his brother. Darcy couldn’t deny that it had been quite interesting when he had landed and even rather fun. Not that Jane’s research wasn’t interesting too, but she couldn’t always keep up. Darcy had carried on working for Jane in her research, being able to assist in the only way she could for six credits. Even if it had been a little scary when Thor landed and even though she had complained, Darcy didn’t regret it. The giant robot did appear in a nightmare every once in a while, but she supposed that she couldn’t call her life uneventful anymore. No, it was pretty neat. She had nothing to complain about really. Now she was back in New York, back to studying Political Science with Computer Science as a minor at Columbia. She’d received her six credits from Jane during the summer, since the distance between New York and New Mexico was vast, and it had been an internship she was keen on.

It was a bit of a stretch, sure; the fact that she didn’t understand much of the sciency stuff Jane worked on posed the question of why she chose that one in particular quite often, but Darcy liked having that element of unpredictability in her person. Plus, it was a chance to learn more and work in an area outside of her comfort zone. And yes, she had picked up some things from her time with Jane; she understood a little more about science and Einstein-Rosenbridges. Not that she could do anything with such information, but Darcy was a lover of books and learning. Sure, she had earned rather average grades in science back in her high school days, but she did study hard and was pretty happy with her results. Now she couldn’t be happier, studying in college and at present she was in her final year. Better yet, it was Halloween and Darcy had always enjoyed Halloween, even though it was more of a children’s holiday than an adult’s. She had been to a couple of great parties with costumes and the like, which were pretty fun. So to say Darcy was expecting some pretty damn good costumes tonight was an understatement.

Tonight she was off to a party at one of her friends’ places; she hadn’t managed to find an apartment for the lack of time to do so with the whole internship and whatnot, so she had opted for the dormitory lifestyle once again. Her friend’s place was up towards Central Park, so she was dressed and ready long before the party was due to start. Darcy had gone for a sexy witch costume. Definitely not the green faced ones. Urgh. She’d always hated those kinds. No, she was definitely a hot one. At least, she tried for it. The skirt was above the knee and her top was flattering to her bust. Darcy didn’t often dress up as such, preferring to cover herself up in large sweaters and whatnot, but tonight was Halloween and she would make the effort. Plus, her trusty taser was tucked securely in her little bag.

Grabbing her long black coat, she wrapped herself in it and left her dormitory. She took a cab out to her friend’s place and entered the wonderfully crowded apartment with music blaring and everyone in costumes. Then there was the dancing; Darcy dived straight in and soon enough she was dancing along with some person she hadn’t met before. So, a pretty normal party. Darcy drank some shots and other such beverages and by the end of the night, she was tipsy. It was pretty late when she left, but not by party standards. Darcy was just not one to stay until the early hours in the morning, especially since it was her final year in college and she really didn’t want to screw up all of her effort so far.

Being tipsy as she was, she forwent the calling of a cab and started to walk back, giggling along the way. Darcy stepped into Central park, wanting to take the scenic route, when something glittered in her peripheral vision. She walked forwards and stared up in front of her, something gold seemed to be glittering and falling until the sound of something hitting the water echoed through the night. Alarmed, Darcy fumbling into her purse for her taser and rushed towards the lake where she could see in the lamplight the large ripples on the surface of the water. Something _fell_ into here and…Darcy had no idea what it could possibly be. Darcy looked up at the sky, which was clear before, but there was a strange ripple of colour, ever so slight, so much so that a lot of people would not even notice it. Darcy, however, was very good at noticing things. Sure, she knew little of science, but it didn’t stop her being the only one in Jane’s workplace who spotted the Thor-shaped shadows in the pictures.

Darcy looked back down to the lake. It had been around two minutes and nothing had come to the surface. It was fairly shallow to begin with and she groaned at what she was going to have to—whoa, seriously, was that _ice_ she was seeing? It seemed to be creeping ever so slightly onto the surface of the lake near where she was. Oh great. Like wading through this water wasn’t going to be difficult already. Darcy quickly shoved her coat off and her bag to the side, along with the taser and her boots, before quickly wading into the water in order to find whatever it was that she would find. Arms out like some sort of zombie, she treaded carefully, but still found herself tripping over something. She landed with her face barely out of the water on her hands…and it wasn’t the dirt of the lake bottom either. Something soft and yet firm, she ran her hands along it until she felt metal and at the very end of it…fingers! Darcy had to stifle a screech as she grabbed the arm and yanked it out after her, somehow getting enough adrenaline to pull the body right out of the lake and…seriously what the _hell_ was she doing?! She should have called the police. She was thankful for the lamplight as she pulled the figure out and rolled him onto his back, quickly thrusting her fingers to the side of his neck as she brought out her phone and dialled 911, quickly asking for an ambulance as she moved the fingers from his neck to placing her hand a few centimetres above his mouth and nose to check for breathing. Neither were present. She clicked end once the message had been given.

Darcy tried to stay calm and do what she learnt in first aid class. While he was cold from the water and the ice, she didn’t know whether he was completely done for and thought it would be worth a shot at least _trying_ to revive him. So Darcy started doing the chest compressions to try and get the blood flowing again before moving to give him mouth to mouth. She alternated between the two and thought briefly about whether or not her taser would work as a substitute defibrillator, but decided it was too risky and he was wet…so that wouldn’t be very good. It was in the middle of giving mouth to mouth to him that the guy coughed and spluttered, and she pulled back with a grimace. Ew. Someone coughing into her mouth was definitely _not_ the highlight of her night.

But holy shit! He was alive! Darcy saw the man’s chest heaving and water dripping from his mouth. Darcy quickly turned him over and tried to help him by slapping his back in the hopes of the water coming out. She wasn’t too sure how you handled those who had been underwater with no air for a period of time, so she did what she thought was best. Now she could hear the sound of a siren coming closer to them and she was relieved when the paramedics came and quickly assessed the situation.

“What happened?” One of them asked her. She couldn’t very well tell him that she was sure that he fell out of the sky, so she gave him the best answer she could.

“I found him lying face down in the shallows of the lake; I’d been tipsy and…yeah, well, anyway, he wasn’t breathing nor could I find a heartbeat, so I performed CPR on him,” Darcy said. The other paramedic was checking the man over, who seemed to be unconscious again (had he become conscious at all? He did splutter, but she wasn’t really sure).

“He seems to be breathing and his heartbeat is there. You most likely saved his life,” the paramedic said. They got him onto the stretcher.

“Should I come with? I…would like to know that he’s going to be okay,” Darcy asked. Thank God for no lectures in the morning.

“Of course,” the paramedic said.

 

* * *

 

Loki was vaguely conscious as he felt himself being lifted onto something and moved upwards before stilling. It was brighter in the smaller space with a white roof and various things that he could not identify. A woman and a man sat on something to the side of him; to his right, and the man was holding something in his hands. His eyes were barely open.

“Now, I’m just going to take a little blood, you’ll only feel a little prick,” the man said, which immediately made Loki raise his hands to his chest, barely aware of the action. “Sir—.”

Loki shook his head and stared at the man with suspicion in his gaze…or at least, he wanted to. His expression didn’t change from the dazed confusion.

“We need to keep an eye on your heart rate,” the man said, sounding at a bit of a loss. Loki wasn’t sure what these people had in mind for him, but he felt far too weak and out of it to do much. The woman reached out towards him slowly.

“It’s okay. Will you let me hold your wrist and check your pulse?” The woman asked. “No blood taken; no machines…” Loki stared at her hand for a moment before reaching his right hand towards her, which she grasped hold of and had her thumb and middle finger wrapped around his wrist, just about, with the thumb resting on the inner wrist.

She was watching the time piece upon her wrist and he stared instead at the ceiling, wincing at the loudness of the siren that seemed to be coming from above the ceiling. Loki could feel the movement beneath him and surmised that he was in some form of transport. Considering the technology, he was obviously on Midgard. He hoped he had not landed in the same place that Thor did; that would be truly the lowest of lows. He wasn’t sure how long he was in this monstrosity, but he was infinitely glad to be out of it and, oh, he could see the sky. Stars were out, though they were not very clear. How tragic. Loki closed his eyes against the white ceiling that went too quickly for his vision to keep up with.

Oddly, the mortal woman had hold of his hand.

He wasn’t sure what to think of that.

 


	2. Second chances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy stays with Loki in the hospital and ends up taking him back to her place the next day, despite knowing who he is.
> 
> Of course, she wouldn't hesitate to tase him if he tried anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Hope everyone's having a great day!
> 
> Thanks to all those who have given me kudos and to mnemosyne23 and Willowlux for their comments. <3 You are great!
> 
> I only realised she was studying at Culver after I started writing this and while I did think of changing it, it's so much easier for me to write her being in New York because I have a little more knowledge of New York through various tv shows and films. 
> 
> Anyone following the stuff on Tumblr, happy Tasertricks week. I haven't been able to write the prompts given, but I did get inspired for another fic. It'll be a while, probably, before I get anything up for that. I think writing four Tasertricks fics and one Snily fic is enough already right now. XD
> 
> Enjoy!

The doctors were a little anxious to take blood from their patient, to give him a full check up, but while he was dazed and confused for the most part, that particular action brought out a reaction in him and Darcy had a funny feeling this was no ordinary man, so she suggested just carrying on without the blood tests. So they went on as normal, ran what tests they could without any blood or tissue samples and after it all, Darcy was sat by his bedside in the recovery area, him with tubes in his nose and the heart monitor connected to his wrist (after she insisted that it was the same as her checking for his pulse in the ambulance). The doctors were away for the time being and she stared at the dark-haired man. Now that she got a proper look at him, she realised he was rather handsome. She reached out and took his hand; he had no one else around to comfort him and he looked so lost.

“How are you feeling?” Darcy asked. The man opened his mouth and a rasp came out, before he reached his left hand, the one attached to the monitor, to his throat and coughed a little.

“I…feel…tired,” the man rasped. He had a British accent, so if he was a normal guy, then she knew where he was from. But despite it being Halloween, she wasn’t quite sure that this was a costume. It was probably a good thing that the technology could pass through practically anything to x-ray him or whatever it was they had done. Darcy rubbed his hand.

“Understandable; you nearly died…you really scared the shit out of me when I felt no pulse…” Darcy said. The man looked at her with those green eyes of his.

“I would have…been fine…probably…” He rasped.

“Dude, I had to give you CPR, I don’t think you were fine,” Darcy said. He stayed silent at that. “I’m Darcy, by the way. Darcy Lewis.”

“I am…Loki…” He responded.

“Don’t tell me, you’re from Asgard and you’re wondering where your wrench is?” Darcy asked. Loki looked at her strangely.

“I…have no wrench…but I am from Asgard,” Loki said.

“Like, for real? The same Loki who brought the giant killer robot?” Darcy asked. Loki narrowed his eyes in pain before closing them.

“I…yes, I…” Loki whispered, looking away from her. Was it remorse? She couldn’t tell, but somehow she wasn’t running away after making some lame excuse to leave. Had he been banished too? Seemed like a long time to debate banishing for, or a long time to be in a fight with Thor. Somehow, she wasn’t sure these were any of the reasons he was here now. So, like Thor got a second chance, she would give him one. If he tried to kill her then she would tase him and get the hell away from him.

“We can talk more later about this. How about you get some sleep?” Darcy suggested. “You’ll probably be kept here at least until tomorrow, so you might as well rest.” Loki blinked a few times before closing his eyes, clearly too tired and out of it to argue.

Darcy wasn’t sure what to do; technically she was outside of visiting hours, so the only real reason she was here was because she had found and saved the guy. They had no knowledge of who he was, he had no cellphone (even if he did, he hadn’t allowed them to get too close) and no one to contact. She picked up his hand absently and held it between her hands. He didn’t wake and she took the time to observe him. It was difficult to tell since all that armour and leather (seriously, dude, how much leather do you need??) covered him, but he didn’t seem to be quite as built as Thor. It was definitely difficult to see the resemblance; dark hair and green eyes to Thor’s blonde hair and blue eyes, and the features were quite different. He was quite handsome, though. Even if he did seem to be a bit psycho. A doctor did come in, but Darcy asked if she could stay here, simply because she wanted to help him in the morning.

 

* * *

 

Loki woke the next morning to see a rather white ceiling and even whiter walls around him. He also felt a slight weight on his right arm and something sticking in his nose. Loki looked to his right and saw the girl from the night before resting her head somewhat on his arm. He noticed that his left arm was connected to some machine with a wire. From what he remembered of Midgardian technology, this was for healing in some way.

“Mortal,” Loki spoke up, a little raspy but infinitely better than last night. “Girl.” Neither provoked a reaction, so Loki tugged on a piece of her hair sharply yet briefly, which resulted in her shooting up clutching her head with a little yelp. Loki stared at her as she blinked and looked back at him, anger filling her eyes.

“What was that for?!” Darcy exclaimed.

“You would not awaken to my words,” Loki said, simply. This, however, did not sit well with her and she muttered various words, about him being lucky he was injured otherwise she would tase him. He wasn’t worried about her veiled threats; he assumed this ‘tasing’ was that which brought Thor down. “I appear to be within one of your healing rooms…I would quite like to leave now, if you do not mind.”

“We’ll have to talk to the doctor about that. Hold on, I’ll go and ask for you, okay? Just…stay here,” Darcy said. Loki watched her stand up and leave. It left him to stare around the room, which was about as inviting as a den of bilgesnipes. It felt like she had been gone for so much longer than she actually was and after some tedious questions from the doctor, he was finally given permission to leave.

Not that he really needed these mortals’ permission for such a thing, but it did help to stay inconspicuous, at least while he assessed the situation and explored his options. Once all of the necessary steps had been taken, he had avoided being taken to the exit in one of those moving chairs for the invalids and felt more relaxed in the open air, free of the confines of the healing building.

“Alright, so I’m going to take you back to my place and we’re gonna have a long talk. Just don’t make me regret it, okay?” Darcy said. Loki said nothing as he watched her stick her arm out and a yellow vehicle stopped at the side of the road. The young woman motioned for him to get into the contraption as well before shutting the door behind him. He could see the driver look at him strangely.

“Yeah, bad Halloween party. We’re okay though. Anyway,” Darcy rambled before she told the man what he assumed must be her place of residence and he suddenly realised that he was missing his helmet. Even out of the void, he did not feel the strength or magic needed in order to simply summon it. He stiffened as the mortal girl reached over him and pulled something from the side of him and he grabbed her wrist to stop her.

“What are you doing, mortal?” Loki hissed.

“I’m fastening your seatbelt; it keeps you safe in the car in case we crash,” Darcy explained. Loki wasn’t particularly pleased by the explanation, but let her wrist go anyway. The mortal clicked the metal part into some sort of device and moved back to her position. They sat in silence for the rest of the journey before the man stopped and gave her a price, which she paid and jumped out, moving around to the other side to help him out. Once out, Loki followed her into her building and then into her small room.

“Right, well, take a seat. Do you want a drink? I have some poptarts if you want…your brother liked those,” Darcy said, but realised she must have said something wrong because he was looking annoyed after she said it. “Anyway, what drink?”

“Tea, if you please. Milk and three sugars,” Loki said, icily.

“Tea it is. Just don’t leave this room,” Darcy said before she left to get the drinks. Loki looked around her room and stood up, walking to the desk she had in there. The mortal had some framed photographs, including herself and what might be her family, herself and Thor’s woman and a picture of herself, Thor, his woman and the other man. There were a few papers on the desk with writing upon it, various pens, and various other items that were of no real interest to him. The door opened and the mortal came inside, carrying a tea, a bottle under her elbow and a box of something. She let the box and the bottle fall to the bed before handing him the tea. He accepted it and walked around to sit down again. She sat and took the bottle, opening it and taking a swig. It seemed to be orange juice. The mortal also offered him something from the box.

“Strawberry poptart. Go on, try it. They’re nice,” Darcy said. Loki tentatively took one and bit into it. He was pleasantly surprised. “Okay, down to business. What the hell happened that you are now down here, despite you sending that killer robot down to try and kill us? Because something like that would surely get you into trouble.”

Loki swallowed the piece of tart he was eating and stayed quiet for the moment. He sighed and shook his head. “…After Thor returned and stopped me from destroying Jotunheim by breaking the Bifrost bridge, we dangled from the edge, Odin holding onto Thor and I onto Gungnir that Thor had hold of…Odin was not pleased with my actions despite my attempts to show him I was a worthy son and I…felt no need to remain there. So I let myself fall,” Loki said.

“No offence, but why would that make your dad proud by, I assume, destroying a whole race?” Darcy asked, remembering what she had read of the legends. They were fucked up, that was for sure. Loki took a long sip of his tea before answering.

“The Jotunns are a monstrous race, having caused many a problem in the past, one such being nearly wiping out Midgard,” Loki said. “I had been filled with feelings of betrayal, desperation, jealousy, hatred…I suppose I was not thinking. However, I do not regret letting go. I have cut ties with Asgard. I am dead to them.” Loki watched the girl think about his explanation, an expression of sadness upon her features.

“So you should have died?” Darcy asked.

“There was a chance it would kill me, however it was not certain whether I would live or die…it mattered not,” Loki said.

“Yes it does. You have family who care about you. Thor spoke quite highly of you; he loves you,” Darcy said.

“I tried to kill him,” Loki responded.

“I doubt that would stop him from loving you,” Darcy said. “You’re his brother; through thick and thin, he’ll love you. Thor didn’t seem the type to let something like that go so easily.”

“You know nothing of which you speak,” Loki said coldly. The mortal shrugged and nibbled on a poptart.

“Whatever. Anyway, what do you plan on doing next?” Darcy asked. Loki furrowed his brow.

“I…know not. I am merely relieved to be out of the abyss,” Loki said. Silence fell between them as Loki took in his surroundings again; he really had no plan of action and nothing really jumped to his mind right now. He looked back at Darcy and pondered. “What purpose do you serve? Do you work?”

“Nah, I’m still at college. My last year and then I’m out in the cruel, cruel world,” Darcy said.

“Perhaps I will stay here,” Loki said, looking around. “You have an extra bed.” Darcy swallowed the piece of poptart quickly. 

“Uh, I’m not sure the people in charge of this place would allow that, you know, with us being different genders,” Darcy said, taking a sip of her drink.

“And if they did allow it? Would it bother you?” Loki asked.

“Err, just a little. I mean, I’m no prude, but—” Darcy started, before Loki held up a hand with a smirk.

“Then what do you suggest?” Loki asked.

“I can finally get that apartment,” Darcy said. “I’ll search for a place to stay. Not sure how I’ll afford it, but maybe I’ll find a job or something.”

“I have money that can be turned into your Midgardian currency,” Loki responded. Darcy raised an eyebrow at him.

“How does that work? I mean, no, seriously, I can’t put my head around it,” Darcy said.

“Although you cannot create currency or valuable trade-worthy assets with magic, you can change one currency into another,” Loki said.

“How about exchange rates? They go up and down all the time,” Darcy said. Loki chuckled.

“You would likely get more for your money with magic; there is no one out for a profit,” Loki said, knowing enough about mortal systems to know that there was no truly fair exchange going on.

“Alright, let’s do this. At least with you inputting, I won’t be hideously strapped for cash,” Darcy said.

“I am glad to be useful for something,” Loki said dryly.

“Dude, I’m _so_ not getting bankrupt for you; I barely know you and, really, of what I _do_ know of you, I shouldn’t even be letting you in,” Darcy said. Loki sighed and flopped onto his back on the spare bed; it was still surprising to her that she didn’t have a roommate. It was a very rare occurrence.

“Yes, I know,” Loki said, exasperated. Darcy was sat on her own bed and brought her laptop onto her lap, opening it up and turning it on. She couldn’t help but notice how handsome he was, even if he didn’t seem quite in good shape. He had phased out of his armour, but it was quite the same outfit just without most of the bling. She moved her eyes back to the screen; better not get too distracted, Darcy. She started searching for apartments once it had loaded up and the room was silent for a while, save for the sounds of her typing and the odd little noise from Loki. Here and there she would look up to check on him, but he had his face turned away from her. After half an hour of silent searching she let out a growl.

“Nothing. I can’t find any apartments free right now; none that would be in a good place, anyway. There are some way further out, but I mean, _way_ further. Like, a huge distance away from my college and that’s just not very handy right now. I don’t have a car. Brooklyn’s a nice place and all, but it’d be a hell of a pain,” Darcy groaned. She put her laptop onto the side table and flopped onto her back, closing her eyes. “These dormitories are pretty costly and I imagine any apartment in Brooklyn would be cheaper, but then travel and…blah. I’ll have to check out the buses. I could see if my parents would help me there too.”

“Are your parents wealthy?” Loki asked.

“Not exactly; they are basically middle class, and we live in a home that’s just the right size for us, but it’s kind of one of those where we could have gotten a more expensive, potentially more comfortable home, but it’s a nice place and we save money. They gave us both pocket money―us being my sister and me―when we grew up, but I asked my parents to save it up in my college fund. My sister didn’t; she has always been more of a fashion girl. The prettier one, you know? I was the brains. They used to call us Pinky and the Brain,” Darcy said, laughing as she remembered that. “But despite her slight materialistic tendencies, she got a job as soon as she could, as did I. So that’s basically how I can vaguely afford this. Ish. I managed to get a scholarship and I guess I could have gone to Harvard or Yale; I _did_ get accepted in those places, but this place just…I fell in love with it, you know? I’ve always loved New York. So the money my parents saved up for me is my cost of living funds. Oh, uh, wow, I’m rambling. Probably bored you to sleep.” She muttered the last part quietly.

“I understand college is the adult form of education in America, yes? The same as University for the United Kingdom, I think,” Loki said.

“Yeah, it’s hilarious, I have this British friend and we were both, like, seventeen and she confused the shit out of me when she said she was in college. I thought, blimey, she’s young, but no, they have it a bit different over there,” Darcy said. “I mean, we call it university sometimes here too, just most people call it college.”

“What is this, ah, pocket money?” Loki asked. “There are a few things I am a little unsure of in your speech.”

“So we got given a little money each week to spend on whatever. I saved it up; my sister spent it as soon as she got it,” Darcy said.

“And what is a scholarship?” Loki asked.

“Money given by colleges to students who have done particularly well in High School, and have a need for it,” Darcy said.

“You must be quite intelligent, then,” Loki murmured.

“I guess so,” Darcy said. “I’m at the top of the scale as far as grades go.” She saw Loki smile at that, as he turned to face her.

“So modest, but I think that is good…Thor learnt a lot being in yours and his woman’s company…” Loki murmured, closing his eyes again. “I think I would do well to be around such a person."

“As long as you don’t hurt people, then you are free to stay,” Darcy said.

 


	3. Mischief open for business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!
> 
> Sorry for the late update, muse kinda drifted and been quite busy recently.
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and thank you to **MistressofLoki** (Thanks! And yeah, she's just explaining stuff and ends up rambling), **Shadows_of_Shemai** (fairly in touch, just both busy with their lives so probably the odd conversation here and there for now. As for the Bifrost, Loki would have told her coz I don't see how Jane etc would know. ;) Yeah, this fic is hopefully a little lighter on the angst and we'll see more mischief instead. xD) and **nekkou** (Thanks! Yeah, it's more chilled and domestic, but it's gonna get more exciting now, hopefully. Not in the drama way, just the humorous way) for all your comments, they make me happy! 
> 
> Hopefully the humour's picking up in this chapter. ;)
> 
> Enjoy!

“Argh, seriously, it’s been hours and no new apartments yet,” Darcy said, falling back on the bed with a sigh. “I guess it’s not that easy…and won’t happen that fast. Damn.”

“I suppose we will have to stay here for the time being,” Loki said.

“Yeah…” Darcy murmured.

“Or we could stay in this Brooklyn place,” Loki said.

“It’s a long distance to travel,” Darcy said.

“I am quite sure I can help with that…” Loki said, waving his hand and making Darcy appear across the room. To say she was startled was quite the understatement. She rushed back over and hit him on the shoulder.

“Don’t do that again without warning!” Darcy said. Loki merely smirked and lay on his side, head propped up on his elbow. Oh, he could get quite used to pushing this mortal’s buttons. Despite her annoyance, she was on the computer again and he knew she was looking through the accommodations again. She was quite attractive as well, so if he had to spend an undetermined amount of time with someone, she was quite a pick.

“Stop staring at me,” Darcy said. His smirk grew wider and she shuffled around so he had the sight of her backside instead.

“Mmm, that is not exactly any better a solution. You have a lovely backside,” Loki said. She got up and put her computer to the side before climbing over the bed and shoving at him. “Oh my, if you wanted me, you need only ask.”

“In your dreams,” Darcy said, rolling her eyes before returning to her search, ignoring him. He watched her for a little while before getting bored and deciding to use his magic to mess with her a little. Her hair lifting of its own accord, items moving around her desk and even changing the colour of her garments. “Stop it.”

“Where is your sense of humour?” Loki asked. She dropped her face into the pillow and groaned.

“I’m trying to get us an apartment, any chance you can just lie there quietly without doing anything? Please?” Darcy asked.

“Since you said please,” Loki smiled. She picked something up off the floor and threw it onto his bed. He picked it up.

“A rubix cube. The aim is to get each side with only one colour on it,” Darcy said. “I can’t do it.”

Loki smirked and started turning the pieces with relish, wanting to beat this mortal contraption. This was the kind of thing he would find on Vanaheim, though he was aware of puzzles of Midgard. He had just never actually gotten around to doing much more than read their books.

 

* * *

 

Darcy put the laptop to the side and looked over at Loki. She smiled when she realised that he had fallen asleep trying to figure out the rubix cube. In his defence, he had gotten further than she had. Namely a few colours together and nothing broken. Darcy stood up and walked over to him, placing the cube onto the side table and pulling a blanket she had taken out of her dresser over him, tucking him in gently before readying herself for bed, slipping into sleep easily.

 

* * *

 

Darcy woke up slowly the next morning, her vision a little blurred. Through the blur she could see two green blobs. She narrowed her eyes and leant forward, bumping into something before jumping back as she heard his laughter.

Loki had been lying on his side beside her, staring at her.

He had stopped her from falling out of the bed and pulled her back up. Darcy didn’t know what he was doing before she found her glasses on the bridge of her nose. She blinked at him before shoving him off the bed, listening triumphantly as he landed on the floor with a _thunk_. She pulled the covers higher and cocooned herself inside them with only her head visible. She watched him sit and then stand, perching himself on his bed with a crooked smirk.

“Good morning to you too,” Loki said. Darcy grumbled and glared at him.

“Didn’t you ever learn manners?” Darcy asked.

“Yes, but I could not resist. You looked so…hm,” Loki said, the last part with a little amused noise. “So, did you find us a home?”

Darcy rolled her eyes and stood up, retrieving her clothes from the dresser and going into the bathroom to change. She came out and took out her laptop again.

“Oh my God!” Darcy said.

“Hmm, well, if you insist, I can be your God,” Loki said.

“Oh, shut up! There’s an apartment opening in Manhatten. So much easier than staying in Brooklyn. Score! It’s a little more expensive, though,” Darcy said.

“Money is no object, fear not,” Loki said.

Darcy looked up at Loki. “You didn’t magic this into possibility, did you?” Darcy asked.

He raised an eyebrow. “No, I did not…I do not know a single thing about homes in your realm,” Loki said.

“Good,” Darcy said, applying for the apartment immediately. As soon as she did that, she got up and went to the kitchen, bringing back two bowls of cereal and handing one to Loki. She sat down and started eating hers. “It’s cereal. Try it. Fruit loops are yummy.”

She watched as he raised a spoonful to his mouth and ate it. By the look on his face, she could see that he liked it and he carried on eating it with zeal.

  

* * *

 

 

They managed to get the new apartment by Saturday, which she was thankful for. Really thankful for. Loki seemed like a decent guy, but it was a little weird sharing a room with him. Darcy was no stranger to sharing a bed with a guy, but usually it wasn’t for sleeping and then, Loki was an alien and a bit of a nutty one at that. Oh yes, she was giving him a second chance. Of course she was, but he still made her a little nervous. He had been pleasant, though not overly chatty. She’d left him in the dorm room with orders of staying put in there while she went to her seminars.

Thankfully he was content to read the books she had in her room.

So now they stepped into their two bedroom apartment with a separate bathroom and a kitchen, dining area and lounge in one open plan space. Loki pointed at the left room.

“I will have that one,” Loki said.

“Cool,” Darcy said, glad that he had given her the one closest to the bathroom.

Loki had carried her suitcase and laptop bag for her, leaving her with just her backpack and some leftover food, which she thought was nice of him. That and his spell on the suitcase was particularly awesome given he had fit all of her things in there when she had unfortunately ended up with more things than could be carried in one go. Mainly because her second suitcase had packed in after the trip up here from Virginia. Loki carried her case into her room and put it onto the bed.

“Take a moment to think about where you want everything, then open it. The spell will put everything in place,” Loki said before leaving her alone.

Magic was pretty awesome from what she could see! Damn, he was so lucky. She thought for a moment and then opened the suitcase, watching her stuff whizz across the room into drawers, onto the sides, into the bookcase…until it was all away and the suitcase closed. Darcy stored it under the bed and returned to the lounge. Loki was inspecting the television when she walked in and she smiled, joining him and turning it on.

“There’s not a lot of channels right now, but I have DVDs I could show you, hold on,” Darcy said, fetching a few from her room and placing them on the coffee table. She put one in and sat down on the sofa next to Loki. “They’re like books but with moving pictures.”

“I see. What is this one then?” Loki asked.

“Star Wars, the first episode. You might like it, you might not, who knows?” Darcy said.

  

* * *

 

 

Humans had such strange dwellings, but he found this one to be at least a little more accommodating. The mortal herself seemed pleasant enough, though it was only early days. She was definitely nice to look at and the only thing he would miss of that tiny place she called accommodation was the ability to just lie there and watch her sleep. It was better than staring at the ceiling since he just could not sleep. Sleep brought dreams and nightmares, and the latter was one he feared. Falling through the void should have killed him, but instead had warped his mind. It was amazing that he was still sane at all.

He watched this DVD of hers, actually finding it rather fascinating. He had to give the mortals credit; they had far more imagination than Asgardians did. Asgard wrote more factual and philosophical books than fiction, and Loki had to admit he had grown rather fond of fiction even as a boy and it had not left him.

After it had finished, she put in another. The second film. Was he that readable that she knew he wanted more? Damn. Still, the film was entertaining and after that one, Darcy stood up and walked towards the kitchen. He followed her movements with his eyes.

“I’m hungry…damn, we need to stock up on food, do you fancy coming with? You’ll have to wear normal clothes,” Darcy said.

Loki phased into a suit and she grimaced.

“As great as that is, most of us wear casual clothing, come on, you have to have seen some,” Darcy said.

“I will wear this,” Loki said, walking over to her and summoning her purse bag thing and offering it to her.

“Fine, I guess you’ll just have to be my very classy friend,” Darcy said.

“I am…classy, as you say,” Loki said. Humans and their need to define class in society. He followed her out into the streets of New York again, taking the taxi monstrosity and this time found himself in a rather big, rather strange place with all kinds of food and…no, really, was that food? There were a lot of metal containers. He picked one up and looked at the label. Spaghetti Os. Aha, he had heard of spaghetti, but not this.

“You don’t know what they are, do you?” Darcy asked.

“No,” Loki said. She took the can and put it into her trolley. Loki followed her through and watched as she put various items into it. Loki plucked various items off the shelves and put them into the trolley too.

The best reaction he got, however, came from him putting some packet into the trolley, to which she made some sort of choking sound before putting it back onto the shelf. He picked it back up and threw it back into the trolley.

“ _Loki_ ,” Darcy hissed. “Do you even know what they are?”

Loki picked up a second packet and looked at the label. “It says condoms. So, yes, condoms. They are condoms,” Loki said.

“Do you know what they are for?” Darcy hissed.

“They are ribbed for maximum pleasure,” Loki said.

“They’re to keep you protected during sex,” Darcy sighed. “From disease and-and pregnancy.”

Loki plopped it into the trolley anyway as it seemed to be winding her up. “All the better, then, I would not wish to get pregnant,” Loki said. “I am too young for such commitments.”

“Men can’t…oh wait, you’re Loki…seriously, I don’t want to know. Just put them back, it’s…” Darcy said.

“Embarrassing? Now that’s _exactly_ why I will not put them back. Come on, roommate,” Loki said innocently, smiling rather wickedly. “I am rather hungry.”

Darcy glared up at him and he merely smiled innocently. “You’re annoying,” Darcy said.

“God of Mischief, dear,” Loki smiled, putting his hand on the handles and pushing the trolley himself.

Ten minutes later, they had their stuff on the moving rubber. Darcy had reluctantly put the condoms on quickly and the woman who, according to Darcy, was scanning each item so that their total amount to pay would come at the end picked up the first packet. Loki put his arm around Darcy.

“Yes, we plan to protect ourselves. All that fun would be a waste if disease and babies came along, hm?” Loki said cheerfully.

Darcy made a choking noise and shrugged out of his arm while the cashier looked very embarrassed.

“Are these the most pleasurable ones you have?” Loki asked the cashier.

Beat red, she stuttered. “Um, I-I don’t really know. I think we sell scented ones…” The woman replied.

“Scented ones? Fascinating…let me go and have a look,” Loki said. He did so, but saw none. Only those ribbed ones and the normal ones. He walked back and shook his head. “Just these will do.”

The cashier nodded, quickly scanning those items before carrying on with the rest. Darcy paid for the groceries and they got them all into a taxi and home. Once through the door and the bags were on the side, Darcy turned on him.

“What was that about?! You embarrassed me and that poor girl!” Darcy said.

“That was the whole point, my dear,” Loki said, reaching over to stroke her cheek before he started unpacking the bags. “So, do tell me where you want to place all these items.”

They soon got them all packed away and Loki knew where everything went. Darcy seemed very glad they had one of those big fridges with a freezer underneath. Darcy then put together an omelette for them and they sat and watched the third Star Wars.

 

* * *

  

Alas her week off was over and she was back in classes, so she had to tell Loki to keep out of trouble and to amuse himself either with books or movies. Of course, chances were he would eventually start venturing out and honestly, the idea made her nervous. Every day she slowly taught him different aspects of their culture, how to use things and so on, and he was a quick learner. Loki was a lot more comfortable in this life, or at least he looked and sounded a little less out-of-place. No smashed cups, either.

It was infinitely good. Very good.

Darcy had about two lectures that day and was glad when they finished because she could stop focusing on them and think about her situation. So strange that she had Thor’s brother living with her and despite what he had done in the past, he seemed like a decent guy. Honestly, she would rather have him prank her than cause destruction. Maybe she would regret even saying pranks were welcome even in comparison to something else, but for now…yes. Not that he had pranked her after his little condom joke (which was very embarrassing. She was a confident girl, sure, but she preferred to be alone whilst buying certain items).

She had a feeling she was going to go grey before her time.

Darcy decided to be nice to her new roommate and bought them Chinese take away from her favourite place and took it back to their place. She opened their door and stepped in, immediately having something drop on her head. Something slimey and sticky which made her gasp and, ew, she ended up with some in her mouth. She walked blindly forward, putting the thankfully well packaged bag down away from her before stumbling forward and wiping at her eyes.

“LOKI!” Darcy screamed.

She heard a snicker from a little ways away before she suddenly felt his thumbs wipe the goo off of her eyes, making her jump at the sudden contact. Darcy blinked up at the smirking God and growled, shoving at him.

“What was that for?” Darcy asked.

“I was bored,” Loki said. “It was fun. You are entertaining.”

“I was carrying our dinner which I had so nicely bought for you. Urgh! I’m not your toy. You’re not having any Chinese now,” Darcy said, taking up the bag and storming off into her room.

“Oh, come now, it was a little fun. No need to deprive me of your Chinese food,” Loki said.

“Too late, go make yourself something,” Darcy called out.

She used a towel to rub off the slime before angrily eating her food, not having enough room to eat Loki’s as well, but she kept that for later. Stupid Norse God and his stupid pranks. Of all the deities she could have ended up with and she ended up with the easily bored Peeves. After hiding Loki’s food, she stormed out of the room and into the bathroom to shower, ignoring Loki on the couch eating pizza.

After her shower she returned to her room and read for the remainder of the evening, having no assignments to take her mind off her annoying roommate. Stupid Loki…she should tell Thor to get his arse back down here and pick up his brother. Except, there was no way to do that as far as she knew. Although, she supposed she could try and call out to Heimdall or whatever his name was from the myths, see if he could take Loki back somehow. But no, she wouldn’t. Darcy _couldn’t_. Not without effectively betraying Loki and this wasn’t really serious enough to tattle on him. He had said he needed some time away from them, time to think and to recover from the devastation he had left. He had found out that he was some Jotunn monster thing, though Darcy couldn’t really imagine it. Not that she knew what one looked like.

Darcy rubbed her face. She was just going to have to put up with the annoying little bugger for now. Maybe she would return the favour, no matter how bad an idea that would be. See how he likes it.

Let the games begin.


	4. Tricks and teasing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mischief is getting out of hand, but then what did Darcy expect from the _God_ of Mischief? 
> 
> Boy is she in for a surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos and thank you to **Shadows_of_Shemai** (I had fun writing that and there's more in here. ;D) and **Anna** ( <3) for your comments, they make me smile. 
> 
> Okay, so things are heating up in this chapter and I'm changing it to an M story. I don't feel I've written explicitly, though maybe a little more suggestive here than I was in Paths, but yeah. Hopefully tastefully. I hope it's not too badly written. xD
> 
> It's a fun chapter, or was fun to write at least. xD 
> 
> Enjoy!

The past week had a been a nightmare, especially when you spend half the time anxiously anticipating a prank for it never to come. It drove her crazy. Then when she didn’t expect it, it would come and Loki would laugh. Every day was different and it was both exciting and a little terrifying. She had to admit that she was glad that he was taking the time to pull pranks rather than fall back into the brief bad phase he went through. Obviously the man was a good guy, just more than a little messed up and made a mistake. At any rate pranks definitely ranked higher in her acceptable scale than murder and otherwise.

The first prank had been disguised in the image of a kind gesture. Loki pretending to try and make amends for his prank by buying her some filled doughnuts. Custard, one of her favourites. So she had quickly picked one up and bit into one, only to find that it wasn’t custard. It was fucking mayonnaise. Yuck! She liked mayonnaise but this was gross. Darcy spat it out and hit at him, who wasn’t even there, just a damned copy. She found him in his room and managed to pin him down, forcing him to eat some too. He unfortunately seemed none too phased by the horrible combination. She grimaced and got off of him, stomping out of the room.

The day after was prankless, but she had been on edge and carefully made her own food, ignoring Loki’s offerings of pancakes, brownies and cake. It killed her to refuse them, but she didn’t want to risk eating toothpaste brownie or mud cake. The idea repulsed her just thinking about it. No, the second prank came the day after when she came home shattered after a gym visit. She smelt awful and felt yucky, so she went straight for the shower. Clearly a bad idea when the hot water turned straight into cold water (she screamed) and then into some vile-smelling gunk before feathers dropped out from somewhere. She got out, wrapped a towel around herself and stomped out towards Loki, hoping to strangle him.

And he was laughing! Grrrr.

Darcy went straight through him. She whirled around and glared at what she thought was Loki. Him and his stupid tricks. In the end, she had to give up and get another shower, thankfully undisturbed. Darcy didn’t look at him again that evening and stayed in her room, lest she be double pranked in one evening. She needed to exact revenge.

Early the next morning, Darcy woke up and snuck into Loki’s room with various items. First she put make up on him, then she caked his hair in maple syrup. She made sure it was nice and caked in before adding flour. Then he turned over and she stopped herself from squeaking as he took the covers with him to show his bare arse. Well. There was something you didn’t see every day. She knew her eye liner was on the way out anyway so she drew on his butt. She noticed the muscles twitched here and there, and she decided that was almost enough. She draped more maple syrup over him before leaving the room.

Oh, dear Lord, she walked out of her room ready to go out to find Loki walking from his room to the bathroom naked. He turned as he saw her and smirked, winking at her. Well. Any woman who likes a well-endowed man will certainly enjoy him. He was probably the most well-endowed man she’d seen. She stood there for far too long and shook herself out of her reverie, going to the kitchen and eating some breakfast. Then she was banging on the bathroom door demanding that he hurry up so she can brush her teeth.

“Come in and do it, there are no secrets here,” Loki said in his playfully annoying voice.

Darcy sucked in a deep breath; you’ve already seen him naked, so what’s the problem? She entered and walked quickly to the sink, picking up her toothbrush and squeaking when arms pulled her backwards into the bath/shower, under the water, ruining all of her efforts to get ready. She screeched a little more and stumbled to get out of the bath, however, she ended up tripping and nearly landing face first on the floor. Thankfully she was saved the pain by Loki’s magic. He straightened her up and she heard the water turned off. Darcy reluctantly turned around and saw that he was dressed, stepping out of the shower and had hold of her arms quicker than she could keep up.

“I am sorry, it was supposed to be a bit of fun; I did not anticipate you nearly getting hurt,” Loki said. To her great relief, she was dry again and her appearance was fine.

“Okay, okay,” Darcy said, disorientated. “Gotta go.”

He didn’t do anything more that day.

Thursday was without prank and Friday came with a huge shock. She walked out of her bedroom to find herself in a forest. When she turned around, her door was no longer there. Shit, where was she? Darcy turned around and she ran in some direction only to find more forest. Oh God, was this for real or was this one of Loki’s pranks?

“Loki! This really isn’t funny!” Darcy said. She had a sense of humour, sure, but this was scary. “Please stop it!”

Then it disappeared and she was in their lounge. Loki was lounging on the sofa and waved a lazy hand at her. She really wanted to hit him. Instead, she left the apartment without giving him a single word. Darcy ignored him even when she did return home, no matter how much he tried to talk to her. She returned to her room to do her assignments and only came out when she needed to.

Darcy spent her Saturday with some friends, which was a nice break away from Mr. I-take-pranks-way-too-far. Okay, so maybe she was being a bit of a spoilsport, but being trapped in a forest was so not funny. The doughnut she could appreciate, the shower and even the other shower incident. The only reason she reacted so badly to the last one was because she was flustered. She wondered if it was PMS. She wouldn’t be surprised.

When she stepped into the apartment, the main area was empty. Must be in his room, she thought. The door slowly closed behind her and what she couldn’t see was Loki stood behind the door next to the hinge. If it were a horror film, there would be some spooky music playing right now. All Darcy knew was that there was suddenly an arm around her waist and hand around her mouth before she was pushed against the wall, albeit rather carefully. She looked up and left out a muffled scream, her heart beating fast. What had gotten into him?! His eyes…Darcy wasn’t sure what was going on, but his eyes had a look of…hunger in them, possibly. She frowned.

Loki lifted his hand and before she could say anything he covered her mouth with his, making her let out a surprised noise. This wasn’t what she was expecting! And he used her surprise to stick his tongue in. He certainly had some nerve, but those thoughts trailed off as she moaned. It wasn’t a forceful kiss. Not really. Sure, it wasn’t soft and sweet, but there was a sort of vulnerability about it. She could easily get out of this if she wanted.

Darcy didn’t want it to end, actually. She put her hands on his sides and he pressed against her in response, one arm around her shoulders and the other hand on the small of her back. She could feel how much he wanted her and she fought away the urge to blush.

“I want you. I want to take you into my bed and…” Loki said, trailing off, breathless, as if the kissing had robbed him of coherent thought. He breathed in deeply again. “I wish to bed you.”

“Oh, do you?” Darcy asked, teasing him a little.

He narrowed his eyes at her. “Yes…” Loki said, before sighing a little, looking like he was out of his depth. “I know not of―”

Darcy kissed him. He was sexy _and_ not a douchebag. He was trying to be sexy and commanding, but it contradicted with a need to be respectful. Yet he was a pranking assface. What a whole load of contradictions in one person.

“Is that a yes?” Loki asked, almost impatiently. He had it bad.

“And leave you to handle your little situation down there? I’m not that cruel, Loki. So yes, take me to bed. I’ve already seen the goods, wouldn’t mind a test drive,” Darcy said.

He furrowed his brow in confusion, but ignored his own lack of knowledge and picked her up, taking her to his room with that masculine purpose, his eyes looking down at her with that hungry look again. Just before they got through the door, she clutched the frame to stop them.

“But if you _ever_ use your magic on me like that again, send me to some illusion world alone, then you’ll be sorry. You might be some God, but I have S.H.I.E.L.D. in my contacts and I will phone them,” Darcy said.

“Understood,” Loki said, taking her into his room and shutting the door before laying her down and kissing her, quickly magicking out of his clothes and pulling at hers.

When they were both naked, he stared at her, taking in all of her. One hand slowly slid down her body, taking the path between her breasts and downwards, until his fingers were where she wanted them, which made her back arched up involuntarily. At the same time his mouth kissed a trail downwards until he reached her breast, and proceeded to give them a lot of attention. His mouth and fingers made her toes curl; her hands rested on his back and head, wanting more and yet, she had a feeling that he was going to draw it out.

Or at least the part where he would let her test drive his equipment because fuck, fuck, _fuck_ she was there already, experiencing one of the best orgasms she could remember. She was vaguely aware of the cheeky smirk on Loki’s face as he watched her coming undone. When she was down from the height of it, she rested back down on her back, Loki kissing her neck lazily.

Darcy pulled Loki up for another kiss and slid her hands down his sides.

“What was that about bedding me?” Darcy teased, still a little breathless.

Evil smirk. Oh, he was toying with her. She groaned and reached her hand down between them, but he took hold of her hand and moved it away. She tried to flip them over and he wasn’t budging there either. Goddammit.

“Patience,” Loki said, kissing her.

It didn’t take long, though, for him to be exactly where she wanted him and it was even better than she imagined, slow at first before he picked up the pace, all the while stimulating her once more, just without his crafty little fingers this time. She didn’t know how much time elapsed before they reached their peaks within seconds of each other. That was bizarre. It usually took her longer, if she reached it at all. Some of her previous boyfriends or flings hadn’t even done that for her, though it was still pleasurable.

No amount of Godliness stopped him from panting, apparently, spent as he was. He lay next to her as they caught their breath, and she lay there completely fulfilled, feeling those happy feelings as she let her eyes close.

She had a feeling she was ruined for all other men, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was how wonderful it felt.

 

* * *

 

Darcy woke up the next morning to the smell of food. She sat up and looked around for her clothes. She found them, shredded. She couldn’t remember that but then she had been eager for him to ‘bed her’. Darcy let out a giggle at that; such an old-fashioned way to word it, so _silly._ She wanted to tease him about it. She looked through his drawers and found nothing. What the hell Loki? She tugged the sheet off of the bottom of the bed and wrapped it around her so that she could return to her room.

“Is that not a little pointless? I have seen every inch of you now,” Loki’s voice called out to her. He was cooking in the kitchen. “Come, I made breakfast.”

Darcy blushed. “Lemmie just get changed,” Darcy said.

“Ah ah ah, come here now,” Loki said, pointing at the chair.

It was only then that she realised he was half-naked. Darcy sighed and shuffled towards the chair, sitting down in the chair. She had to admit this was kind of exciting. And strangely domestic. He put two plates brimming with food down and two drinks. All sorts of breakfast items and even some that were found in other times of the day…then there was the anchovies. She’d never tried them, but hey, she had the opportunity to here, so why not? Darcy picked up her drink and noticed something.

“Where’s the sausage? Kinda the best part of breakfast,” Darcy asked, sipping her drink again.

“Did you not have enough last night?” Loki asked. She spat out her drink and tried not to choke.

“Where did that come from?” Darcy asked.

“I do know a few of your innuendos,” Loki winked.

“You’re terrible,” Darcy said, but she laughed. “Thanks, I’m starving. I can’t believe I missed dinner!” She mocked glared at him for tiring her out.

“The sacrifice made for such satisfaction, hm?” Loki said with a grin.

“You’re so full of it! But yeah, it was pretty amazing,” Darcy said. It was silent for a moment before she spoke again. “Erm, so…what is this? Like…our relationship.”

“Hmmm…I believe you call it ‘friends with benefits’?” Loki asked.

“Yeah, yeah that sounds good. No offence, but I’m not really in a romantic place right now. The sex was good, yes, but…” Darcy started.

“There is no romantic feelings along with it. I feel the same way, it is quite fine,” Loki said.

Darcy relaxed.

“So this whole week was about you being pent up?” Darcy teased.

“I suppose…I did not realise it at first, however…” Loki said.

“Just try not to be a creeper again, okay? That was super messed up,” Darcy said.

“I will try,” Loki said.

 

* * *

 

Darcy spent the next day in bed, curled up under the covers and contemplating on having a bath, take some painkillers, anything but she couldn’t bring herself to move. Loki had certainly been lucky or he would have had to wait until the week of the crimson flow was over. Urgh. A knock came to her door and she hopefully told them to come in. She didn’t really know what she said, but the bed dipped with his weight. She felt his lips at her neck and she carefully shook her head.

“Sorry, the V is out of service,” Darcy mumbled.

“Maybe I will have to fix it then,” Loki said in a playful tone.

“Mother nature has come for a visit,” Darcy mumbled. His weight dropped down beside her and she felt the covers loosened as his arms came around her.

“On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst, how bad is it?” Loki asked.

“Twenty. I don’t know how I’m talking so coherently, it-it’s bad,” Darcy said, clenching her eyes shut. “It’s the worst in years.”

Loki’s hand went under her pajama top and then into her trouser/underwear and she slapped at it.

“Oi, get o―oooh,” Darcy squeaked. The pain was ebbing away until it was gone. “It’s-it’s gone.”

“I do have some uses other than teleportation services,” Loki said.

“Thank you,” Darcy said softly. “Still not getting any.”

“I am not that desperate, Darcy. I cannot imagine any woman wishing to do such in this state,” Loki said.

“Did you really give birth to a horse?” Darcy mumbled before nodding off.

 

* * *

 

Loki held her while she slept, shaking his head at her question. He might have known that kind of question would pop up eventually and he wasn’t overly fussed about it. Instead, he just held her there, stroking her stomach. Asgardian bodies didn’t work like mortal bodies at all. He did not really understand the logic of it, but then, females were difficult enough to understand on Asgard, nevermind those of another realm. He pitied her, though. He did not know all that much about the ailment, but he would assist her regardless. Perhaps work on a spell to make her permanently painfree in this area. Unless of course something was wrong, it was best not to trick her body into believing it was without danger.

He magicked up some chocolate and some hot chocolate, putting the latter in a spell that would keep it in stasis, both items on her bedside. When he felt her stirring, he gently turned her to face him a little.

“How are you feeling?” Loki asked, stroking her cheek.

“Meh, sleepy and groggy, but better. Definitely without the pain,” Darcy said, still mumbling but not quite as much.

“I made you some hot chocolate, and bought you some chocolate,” Loki said, helping her sit up and passing her the chocolates, which she seemed to brighten up over.

“Thank you…you’re being rather sweet,” Darcy said.

Loki poked her cheek. “Yes, well, it is only to, how do you mortals say it? ‘Get into your knickers’, I believe. I will claim my reward once your feeble mortal body recovers,” Loki said. Darcy kicked him out of the bed, literally.

“Go make me a sandwich,” Darcy said.

 

 

 


	5. Bringing mischief home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki experiences his very first Thanksgiving with Darcy's family and Darcy wishes she had a filter on her mouth (and her thoughts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is well!
> 
> Thanks for all the comments and kudos, every single one makes me happy. <3
> 
> Thanks to Leftennant for the suggestion for the turkey carving. 
> 
> It was pretty weird using the word "mom" in here, but since I write very much in Darcy's mind, it would probably be weird to see her thinking "mum" when I know that would usually be incorrect. xD
> 
> Also, I hope I've not gotten anything wrong with the Thanksgiving stuff; never written it into a story before and I only know what I've seen in Friends or other shows because we don't have it here. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Nearly a week later and she had finally recovered from the hell that was being female. Except her new friend-with-benefits had helped her ease off the pain, so it wasn’t quite as bad as it could have been. Who knew having a mischievous God around would be handy? Still, he didn’t come with parties and rainbows; the man had attempted mass genocide and even tried to kill his brother…though that was more to keep the man from returning to Asgard than actually wanting him dead. Urgh. Godly politics. How he thought that kind of behaviour was acceptable, she didn’t know and didn’t care to think of.

Loki had explained to her the entire situation, from his envy to the moment he fell from Asgard. It was the least he could do considering she had taken him in despite his shady past. Darcy did feel a little sorry for him; it couldn’t be easy to be the overshadowed brother who didn’t quite fit in with the rest of his people, who turned out not to be his people at all. Well, if he was happy here and moved away from the bad side of him, then she wouldn’t complain.

Not to mention he was super hot and very good in bed. Honestly, she had only slept with him once but she was already missing it. Now that she could have sex again, well, she was going to get him into bed. For now, though, she had a few assignments to work on and she wasn’t about to neglect her education for a boy. A very hot, very gifted, very…

Darcy swallowed and got her work out, refusing to think about him for the next few hours.

She must have fallen asleep at her laptop because she woke up with her face in her arms and a feeling on her neck. When some more focus came to her, she realised Loki was kissing her neck. Darcy let out a little sigh and turned to look at him.

“For shame, I’m not even awake,” Darcy teased.

“I thought kissing you awake would be more pleasurable than yanking at your hair,” Loki said with a small smirk. She shoved at him before stretching back in her chair.

“Is there something you want or are you trying to tickle a sleeping dragon?” Darcy asked with a playful smile of her own.

“I see no dragon, only a beautiful maiden,” Loki said.

“Yeah, there’s definitely something you want,” Darcy said.

Loki pulled her up against his body and smirked down at her. “I think you know very well what I want; and I think you want it too,” Loki said.

“Oh, I don’t know…oh, fuck it, I really can’t be bothered pretending. Bedroom. Now,” Darcy said, and he really didn’t need telling twice.

Loki didn’t tease her quite so much this time, though he didn’t get straight to it either; he attended to her needs, which didn’t involve a whole lot of foreplay. It suited them both fine. A small part of Darcy knew this was all a bit of a bad idea; if she started enjoying this thing with him too much, she could get too attached and end up being unable to move on to a “normal” relationship. She wasn’t deluding herself into thinking that he chose her especially out of all the girls he could have; she was just here now, the most convenient choice. The quicker option. Not that the advantage was one-sided; she was hardly going to pass up someone both hot _and_ from another planet.

Darcy didn’t allow herself to think anymore on this and focused on the pleasure she was receiving. Before long, she was curled up beside Loki in the midst of falling back asleep; the one downside to sleeping with a so-called God was that she couldn’t seem to stay awake afterwards, as he left her feeling rather tired. He, on the other hand, didn’t seem to feel quite the same. She supposed Asgardians and Frost Giants were like that. Darcy suddenly remembered how Jane was currently without her Godly boyfriend, but decided that was a conversation for another time.

Not that she stayed awake to think about it for much longer.

 

* * *

 

Loki watched the mortal girl fall asleep before he summoned a book into his hands and started to read; he knew he was delaying the inevitable nightmares, but for the time being he could enjoy time without them and catch up on Midgardian literature. Some of the stories were fascinating, some were dull and some were downright disturbing. During the night, Darcy moved in her sleep, eventually ending up with her head under his chin and her left arm around him as she lay a little on top of him. He smiled to himself and put his left arm around her as he continued to read.

Honestly, he couldn’t deny he liked the contact. Loki had never been the most touchy-feely person, but this was okay with him. He felt comfortable around her and she didn’t treat him like she would rather have any other Asgardian here than him; if anything, anything she had against him had to do with his recent actions rather than being lesser than Thor. Heck, she did not treat him like a Prince and was comfortable to say whatever first came to her head. That could range from telling him how ‘hot’ he was (Midgardians had odd ways of expressing compliments to appearances) to how much of a ‘dick’ he had been (involving some joke or other). It was refreshing.

When morning came, he placed his book on his bedside before carefully placing Darcy onto the bed properly. He got out of bed and decided to make her breakfast. This time something close to an Asgardian breakfast, just with Midgardian food alternatives. Loki had found an amusing apron in one of the shops and had purchased it; he didn’t really need an apron, but the funny little quip on the front of it made it worth it.

Loki was nearly done when he heard footsteps enter the room.

“Do you ever wear clothes when you cook breakfast?” Darcy asked with a laugh in her voice.

“Only when it is not following a glorious round of sex the night before,” Loki said with a cheeky smile. He noticed she had dressed in yesterday’s clothes. He would have to destroy them next time.

She rolled her eyes and took a seat at the counter. “And you’re wearing an apron,” Darcy said.

Loki turned so that she could see it properly and she laughed. “ _Kiss the cook_? Who knew you were so cheesy?” She grinned.

Loki smirked. “They did not have _Fuck the cook_ so this was the best I could find,” he said.

Darcy shuddered. “Dude, it’s morning, we’re totally not going there. Everytime we sleep together, I end up sleeping through dinner. I’m only human you know. Or, _mortal_ ,” she said, imitating his accent with the last word.

He laughed and then gave her a saucy wink. “Then we will need to work on that; you are simply not used to it yet,” Loki said cheekily.

“Hey, thin line, pal. Upset me and you’re not getting any tonight. Also, we’re gonna eat and then watch a movie before any of that,” Darcy said.

Loki gave her a mock, flourishing bow. “Whatever the lady wants,” Loki said.

“You’re an ass,” Darcy said playfully and he laughed. Oh, it was definitely good fun around her. Loki put the plates of food in front of her and front of him, sitting down on the stool to eat it.

“I have attempted to re-create an Asgardian breakfast…there are a few substitutes, of course,” Loki said.

“It looks yummy,” Darcy said as she started to eat.

By all of the noises she made whilst eating, he assumed she was enjoying it; while Thor had learnt only the very basics of cooking, for he wasn’t really interested in the art himself, Loki had spent many hours with his mother learning how to cook and how to do so artistically. The artistry of cooking was not nearly as appreciated on Asgard as it was in Vanaheim and Alfheim. Especially when a man was the one doing the cooking; it was simply unusual in Asgard.

“Do many men cook in this realm? What are the opinions on that? I know very little of Midgard,” Loki said.

“Hmmm, well, as a woman, it is totally awesome seeing men cook. It’s not really looked down on by other guys, I don’t think, but there are still vestiges of old sexist propaganda. Just don’t tell a woman her place is in the kitchen or tell them to make you a sandwich, it’s really not appreciated,” Darcy replied.

“Did you not ask me that a little while ago?” Loki asked, amused.

“You were being a cheeky sod, and it was a joke. Look, I don’t mind plenty of jokes, as long as I can tell it is a joke. The thing with jokes here is they’re best made between those who know each other well enough or just…I don’t know, there’s a line. I think you just gotta be one of those people who know when it’s a good time and a bad time,” Darcy said.

Loki laughed. “Understood. On Asgard, cooking is usually a feminine task, especially the kind of cooking that is very showy and artistic,” Loki said.

“Asgard sounds like a cross between the medieval times and the future. No place is without their flaws and yet you guys were worshipped as Gods when we were more naive,” Darcy said.

“Exactly. We have superior strength and other such qualities, but we are still rather backwards in some respects,” Loki said.

“Loki, dude, this was delicious. There are flavours I haven’t tasted before and don’t even seem like they’re from here,” Darcy said.

“That is because Midgard does not use certain ingredients in its dishes despite having the resources here,” Loki said.

“Care to share?” Darcy asked.

“Where is your sense of mystery?” Loki asked.

“I hate Sherlock Holmes,” Darcy said.

Loki laughed; he cleaned all of the dishes with magic and put them away as he continued to enjoy this little mortal girl’s presence. He was glad to have landed in her vicinity, that he was able to be so open with her because she already knew Asgard existed and she had a very good sense of humour.

 

* * *

 

They spent the day lounging around, watching movies and it was around 3pm that she received a phone call from her mother, reminding her about thanksgiving at home. Probably a good thing, really, considering she probably would have been halfway through having sex with Loki before she remembered what day it was. Maybe not until the day after, actually. Her mom told her that Marlene, her sister, was bringing her boyfriend and for some reason she could not quite fathom, she said she was too.

It was only after she said goodbye and hung up that she realised what she’d said. And Loki was looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, shut up, it just slipped out. I’ll explain the situation on Thursday…but yeah, you’re coming to Virginia with me to celebrate Thanksgiving with us,” Darcy said.

“What is this holiday?” Loki asked.

“It’s where we thank the heavens that we no longer worship Gods of Thunder and Mischief,” Darcy joked.

“Then I refuse to go,” Loki shot back, making them both laugh. Darcy explained the holiday to him and while the concept itself was irrelevant to him, a big amount of food wasn’t. From what she had seen and heard from him, he had a big appetite like Thor did, but he was a lot more subtle about it.

“I’m sure my family will love you; you’ll just need to pretend to be human for a bit,” Darcy said.

“I am sure I will survive, Darcy,” Loki said with a wink.

“You’d better; it takes too long to train up a new lover,” Darcy said, which earned her a mock jaw drop and shocked/hurt expression.

“How dare you; I am untamable,” Loki said.

“In your dreams, apron boy,” Darcy said. 

She couldn’t stop laughing at that.

 

* * *

 

 

Darcy finished up her classes on the Wednesday and hung around the apartment with Loki for hours before she finally let him teleport them to her place, since she didn’t want to have to explain how on Earth she had managed to get there so quickly. The less questions the better, quite frankly. She led Loki to her door and went in after unlocking the door, walking straight into the lounge where her parents were sat watching TV. They immediately paused it and she received hugs from both of them before her mom started fussing over Loki.

“Oh, mom, I need to—” Darcy started.

“You must be Darcy’s boyfriend! We’re so happy to finally meet one of her boyfriends at last; is it serious?” Her mom asked.

Darcy wanted the ground to swallow her up; her mom looked so damned _happy_ , how the hell was she supposed to deny it now? She had to, though. She couldn’t keep up such a lie; this was her _mom._ You couldn’t just lie to your own mother, though she already had, even if it was accidental.

“Um…” Darcy said, unsure what to say. Suddenly the words had disappeared from her head.

“We have not been dating very long, but I do like your daughter a lot,” Loki answered for her and she wasn’t sure whether she was relieved or annoyed at him.

“That’s all that matters, eh? Now, can I get you a drink? We have all kinds of soft drinks, hot drinks, wine, beer?” Her mom asked.

“A red wine, if I may,” Loki said with a smile.

Her mom looked at her with a smile. “You have certainly picked out a polite one!” She said.

Darcy just smiled at her while inwardly thinking _shit shit shit_.

 

* * *

 

 

Loki had been the one to ask where the guest room was and she could tell her parents were a little surprised by that. Darcy also knew it would endear himself to them even more than he already was. Two hours of knowing him and they were charmed. Well, it was a novelty sleeping alone so she took advantage of it. The next morning to early afternoon was spent in the lounge while her mother prepared the dinner. Her sister would be bringing the dessert this year and Loki kept insisting that her mother allow him to assist with the cooking. She point blank refused as Darcy knew she would, but he at least made sure her drink was always refreshed.

Marlene and her boyfriend arrived at 1pm, bringing with them two mouth-watering desserts. Darcy wasn’t sure what she was looking forward to most, the dinner or the dessert. Both were going to be absolutely delicious.

“Darcy!” Marlene exclaimed once she was able to hug her.

“Marlene! How are you?” She asked.

“I’m doing great, Darcy, absolutely great. Dad, can you get mom in here for a moment?” Marlene asked before turning to look at Darcy. “And who do we have here?”

Loki stepped forward and kissed her knuckles. “It is a pleasure to meet you…Marlene, correct?” Loki asked.

Marlene looked at Darcy with a pleasantly surprised expression. “Darce! Where _did_ you find this one?” She asked.

“He’s British…of noble birth, apparently. So old-fashioned…we met in New York,” Darcy said. “His name is Loki.”

“I wanted to see what all of the fuss was about in regards to the ‘big apple’…I was not disappointed,” Loki said, looking at Darcy for a moment before looking back at Marlene.

“It’s nice to meet you, Loki. An unusual name, but I trust you’re looking after my baby sister?” Marlene asked.

“Of course,” Loki said with a polite nod of his head.

Who knew one simple Thanksgiving invitation could turn into this? She supposed it would be easy enough to tell them that they had ‘broken up’ once the thing between them stopped, but it was still lying. They were just having sex; that was it. Very, _very_ good sex, but it wouldn’t last. She doubted a God like him would commit to her. Darcy’s thoughts were interrupted when her mom came and greeted Marlene.

“We have something to announce,” Marlene said, holding out her left hand for everyone to see. A ring.

 

!!!

 

“We’re engaged,” Ezra said, his arm around her.

Darcy and her mom squealed as they wrapped their arms around Marlene again, leaving poor Ezra to stand to the side. Her dad and even Loki shook his hand, though. It was kind of a shame that she wasn’t dating Loki; this would be the first of many family reunions. Of course, she wasn’t interested in Loki, so it didn’t matter. She’d get the chance in the future…when she was damned good and ready. Darcy decided that she would confess to her parents and sister in time, just not today.

Within the next hour, they were all sat around the table ready to eat.

“Loki, since this is your first Thanksgiving and your first family get together with us, would you do the honour of carving the turkey?” Her dad asked.

“Are you sure? I would not want to take such a role when it is only the first meeting…” Loki said.

“Of course, go ahead!” Her dad said.

Loki stood up and stepped over to the head of the table, taking up the carving knife with practised ease and started carving the turkey. Darcy couldn’t help but stare at his hands as he did so; the pieces were so evenly cut that it was almost a little unnerving. She had never really had any particular thoughts about a person’s hands, but his were exceptionally gifted. The way they touched her, teased her…now they deftly carved the turkey. Darcy looked up at his face, pushing those thoughts away and saw that he was staring at her. Shit, he knew. Surely he noticed her staring. Aw, crap.

He placed plenty of turkey on each plate before sitting down in his place and raising his glass in a toast.

“I know not how you start your meals usually, but I would like to toast everyone here and thank you for inviting me into your home, sharing this bountiful feast with me, who you have known not even a day,” Loki said.

They all toasted and made a start on the dinner. As always, her mom had outdone herself.

And as always, she would need a forklift in order to get out of her chair.

 

 

 


End file.
